A line editor is a text editor computer program that manipulates text primarily by the display, modification, and movement of lines. Line editors precede screen-based text editors and originated in an era when a computer operator typically interacted with a teleprinter (essentially a printer with a keyboard), with no video display, and no ability to navigate a cursor interactively in a document. Line editors were also a feature of many home computers, avoiding the need for a more memory-intensive full-screen editor.

Un éditeur ligne par ligne est un logiciel qui effectue les tâches d'édition d'un texte en considérant les lignes les unes après les autres, plutôt que tout le document dans sa globalité.